The New Avenger
by starrysky7
Summary: It's been seventy years and much has changed for Clara, and there is even more change to come. With the awakening of an old friend, and the impending threat of an alien invasion, Clara is in for the greatest fight of her life. A fight to save the world.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners**

 **Warning , this is a sequel and won't be understood unless you read the first story, The Soldier and the Nurse, which you can find on my profile.**

* * *

 _"What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today."_

 _William Glasser_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 _Captain America's alive_.

Those words hadn't sounded real to her when Fury had said them to her, and even now, standing over Steve's unconscious body, faced with unrefutable evidence, she still found herself in disbelief. Steve looked just as he had seventy years ago, as did she, but she had changed in many ways over the decades.

"How's the room look?" Asked Fury

"Realistic" she muttered, "Except for the radio"

"What do you mean?" He asked

"That game was before Steve went under, I remember going to it, it's not something he'll miss" she explained, "A fact I'm sure you didn't overlook. So, is it some sort of test?"

"Of sorts" said Fury, "He's been gone a long time, I want to see if he's still the same man"

"You want to see if he's still as powerful as he was" she said disdainfully

"Do you not agree?" He asked

"Since when did you care if I agreed to something" she stated bitterly, her arms folded over her chest,

"Can I count on you to assist in introducing him to the world?" Asked Fury

"For him, not for you" she said

"I understand" he said, "I'll give you a minute"

Clara sat down on the edge of the bed, her hand reaching out to take Steve's. He was really there. Seeing him again was like being reminded of a past life, of the person she used to be. That past life was almost like a previous identity, one she had shed I'm favour of another, then another, before she became unsure about her true identity. For a long time, she didn't know who she was, where she belonged. But she found herself again, and she was happy for long time. She had a husband, children, a job, a normal life. But now, even that seemed like a dream.

She couldn't do it. Couldn't sit by him, look at him, see him there. Be reminded of her old life, of everything she'd loved and lost. No, she wasn't strong enough, so she left, and despite Fury's attempts, she did not return. She couldn't. She just couldn't.

* * *

The training facilities at SHIELD were some of the best in the world, far greater then the one's in which she'd been trained. She found them to be very useful when she needed to let off some stem.

"Go" called out the instructor, and the agent advanced on her

He took the first swing, which she dodged, before delivering one of her own. He tried to punch her in the stomach, but she grabbed his arm, and kicked him in his side, causing him to stagger. She then stretched her leg out to kick him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

"Would anyone else like to face Agent Howard?" the instructor asked the remaining agents, the rest having already faced her were all nursing their injuries. The agents eyed both women, knowing that to face Clara would risk injury, but to not do so would disappoint their instructor "No, didn't think so" she said, before turning to Clara, "Always a pleasure to have you"

"Always a pleasure to be here" replied Clara, grabbing her bag from the corner, heading out towards the changing rooms

She was quick to shower and change, even though she didn't want to go home, doing things fast and efficiently was a habit of hers.

"You know, some would consider spying to be rude" she said, as she exited the changing rooms, Fury standing just outside,

"You know, if you keep injuring the agents we may not have any left" he told her,

"Better I do it then someone else" she shrugged, "Why are you here? What's happened?"

"He's woken up" said Fury, "I've told him about you, the basics at least, thought you could fill the rest in. Unless you don't want to speak to him"

"I do want to, it's just" she said, "I mean, I don't know how he'll react to me. For him the last time we spoke was days ago, a lot has changed for me"

"I'm bringing him to your apartment tomorrow" said Fury, "That'll give you some time to plan what you'll tell him, and what you won't"

"Is that a warning?" She asked him

"A suggestion" corrected Fury, "We both know Steve won't be exactly understanding about certain parts of your past. It's best for everyone if you don't tell him everything"

"You know I hate it when you're right" she mumbled, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow"

* * *

Even after a full day of planning, Clara was still unsure about what she was going to say to Steve. She was unsure about how either of them would react. Steve had already woken up seventy years into the future, being greeted with the knowledge that most of his loved ones were dead, and that the world had changed perpetually from the one he'd known, and in many ways, it was not for the best. How would he react when he saw her? She wasn't the girl he knew, a fact he would soon realise. How would he deal with that? How could he?

So it was with much trepidation that Clara awaited Steve's arrival. At first she had sat on the couch, but she was too nervous for that, so she had taken up pacing around the apartment. Everything was spotless so she couldn't occupy herself with cleaning, she'd already spent most of the night up making sure the apartment was in pristine condition. She knew that Steve wouldn't care about the state of her apartment, but it provided her with a decent enough distraction.

She kept running different scenarios through her head, each one more absurd than the previous. She had even gotten her previously long hair cut to shoulder length, styling it in a way similar to what he would remember, and she was glad that she had long ago shed her dark locks to return to her natural colour.

She was deep in her thoughts that the sound of the doorbell caused her to jump. She rushed over to it, taking a minute to pause, regaining herself, before opening it.

Steve's eyes widened at the sight of her, and Clara swore he would go into shock. Although Fury had already told him what to expect, Clara knew that hearing about something was different then seeing it yourself.

"Steve, uh, do you want to come inside?" She asked, and Steve nodded, stepping inside her apartment

"Call me when you're done" said Fury, giving her an encouraging look, before closing the door

"Uh, take a seat" she said nervously, gesturing to the couch, "I've already made the coffee, I remember how you take it" she rambled, putting the two coffee mugs onto the coffee table, "You must have a lot of questions, do you want to start?"

"How do you still look..."

"Young even though I took the scenic route through seventy years" she finished, "Well, in 1951, I was on assignment for SHIELD, and I was captured" she told him, "I don't remember much, but whatever they did to me, caused me to develop...abilities, one of them being agelessness"

The story wasn't a complete lie, just missing some of the facts. Such as the event that had spurred her into going on assignment. She hadn't blamed Howard for their daughters death, and not had he blamed her, but she had found it too difficult to be around him. Not to mention the exaggeration of her memory loss, although, that had been a lie she had maintained for many years. There were many lies she had told about the particular incident, secrets she had kept. She had never told anyone about the miscarriage the experimentation had induced, not even Howard.

"One of them" he said, "What others do you have?"

"Telekenises and mild telepathy" she explained, "I'll just show you, it'll be easier"

Clara reached out her hand, splaying out her fingers, causing the coffee mug to lift into the air. She grinned as she watched the amazement on his face, he took the mug from the air, and Clara let go of it.

"And I can do much more than that" she said, picking up her own mug, drinking almost half the cup on one mouthful

"Did you use your powers for SHIELD?" He asked, and Clara instantly moved her gaze from him to the mug

"I worked for them on and off over the years, along with other government agencies" she said, "I retired from SHIELD in the late 70's, joining again in the 80's but not in active role"

"Why did you retire?" He asked

"I got married and had kids" she said, causing Steve to raise his eyebrows, "Here, I'll get pictures"

Anticipating the need of pictures, Clara had already gotten out her pile of photographs from her wardrobe. The majority of her photographs were kept at her childhood home, where she as well had raised her children during much of their childhood before their move to Washington, and another pile was at the apartment she'd since bought in Washington. She grabbed the pile from her kitchen table, and sat them down on the coffee table. She took the picture from the top of the pile, handing it to Steve.

"This is from our family trip to Niagara Falls in 88'" she said,

"Is that your husband?" Asked Steve, pointing the brown haired man standing next to her, holding a young boy in his arms

"That's Charlie" she said, "He's holding Thomas, he was five, Tessa's next to him, she was seven, and Will's with me, he was ten"

"You have a beautiful family" said Steve, "Where are they now?"

"Uh, Charlie died, in 95', heart attack" she explained, "Guess that's what happens when you eat too many burgers"

"I'm sorry" he said, and Clara knew that it was a genuine sentiment

"It's okay" she said, clearing her throat, "But my children, Will is an agent for the CIA, Thomas lives in London, and Tessa is a teacher. I have grandchildren actually, Tessa has three children, a girl and two boys"

"Sounds like you had a good life" he said

"I did" she said, "But you might rethink that when you see the hair I had when Thomas was born. Personally, I think I rocked the 80's hair, but my daughter sincerely disagrees"

Steve frowned, not understanding the humour behind her words. Clara drank the rest of her coffee, trying to ignore the tension, a difficult feat indeed.

"What's this?" He asked, picking up the photograph of Clara, Howard and Lizzie at the park from the pile

"That's uh, Howard and our daughter" she explained, placing the mug back on the table, her fingers tapping against her thighs

"When did you and Howard happen?" He asked

"We got married January of 48', Lizzie was born that July" she explained

"Why didn't you mention them?" He asked

"She died, and we divorced" she told him, getting up from the couch, grabbing her empty coffee mug "Not exactly memories I want to relive"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know" he said

"I know, I'm sorry, it's not your fault" she said, leaning her hands against the sink, "How could you know. It's just...it's hard, going through all of this again"

"I understand" he said, "You don't have to continue"

"No, I'm basically finished anyway" she muttered

"Seventy years and that's all that happened?" He asked

"Pretty much" she said, leaving out the part where much of the other events were not things she would willingly divulge to Steve. She had a murky past that she was sure Steve would not cope well with.

"So, you work for SHIELD now" he said, "What do you do?"

"Lots of stuff" she shrugged nonchalantly

"Like what?" He inquired further

"Like stuff I can't tell you because it's classified" she said, "On a need-to-know basis"

"And I don't need to know?" He asked, eyebrows raised

"I don't get to decide who needs to know" she countered, "It's not my call"

Steve didn't respond, looking down awkwardly at his hands. She instantly regretted her harshness. Steve didn't deserve her anger, it wasn't meant to be directed at him, but he got the brunt of it. Usually, she would excel at dealing with her anger in healthy ways. A person can develop a lot of anger over seventy years, you'd have to find an outlet otherwise it would consume you.

But seeing Steve again. It drudged up old memories, inflicting painful feelings. Hurt, regret, anger, grief. She'd lost Steve once, and now he was back. How did someone deal with their friend coming back from the dead? Especially when said person was the best friend of your deceased husband,

"I'm sorry, you don't deserve that" she said, sniffing her nose, "I shouldn't get angry, none of this is your fault. I'm not angry with you, I'm just...angry. I'm sorry"

"It's okay" he assured her, but his voice was weak

"So, uh, has Fury told you what's going to happen? About you going to the Retreat?" She asked, and Steve nodded, "You'll like it there" she promised him, retaking her seat on the couch, "It's a lovely spot, and I can visit, if you want"

"Okay"

But despite their words, Clara never did go visit Steve. He didn't ask her to, and she couldn't bring herself to ignore his silence and show up anyway. If he wanted to see her he'd ask. And until then, she'd give him the distance she needed. She wanted to see him, but she didn't. She wanted to help him, but she didn't want the pain that came along with being around him. It was too much for her. Pain wasn't new to her, nor was the regret, shame, and grief she felt everytime she even thought of Steve now. It wasn't fair on either of them. But life wasn't fair. And that was a lesson she'd learnt the hard way.

* * *

There were many things that irked Clara to no end. Messy rooms, bird poo on your freshly washed car, and day-time soup operas being a few. But there was nothing she hated more than being lied to, or deceived, or manipulated in anyway.

"I heard that you were assembling the Avengers" said Clara, walking up to Fury, who stood in front of the controls of the helicarrier. She'd been moved to the helicarrier immediately after Loki's arrival and the destruction of the SHIELD facility.

"And where did you hear that?" Asked Fury

"People" she shrugged, "So, were you going to tell me?" She asked, "Or was I going to find out when they all arrived?"

"I was going to tell you" he said

"Then why didn't you, why didn't I know, Nick" she spat, "You know I don't appreciate lies"

"I didn't lie" he defended

"Well you didn't tell the truth either, and we both know that that's basically lying" she said, "I'm sick of you hiding things, you don't need to test my loyalty. You can trust me, Nick"

"I know" he said,

"Then why don't you?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest, "I understand why you didn't tell me about SHIELD studying the Tesseract, I wouldn't have agreed, still don't, even if the plan was clean energy. Plus, then I'd get the chance to say I told you so, and I now how much you hate hearing that. But you need to start sharing things with me"

"Now, are you getting all of them?" She asked, "Stark? Banner?"

"Afraid that your past is coming back to haunt you?"

"Why would I be?" She asked, sarcastically, "I was only married to Tony's father, and spent a good amount of time tracking Banner around the world. What would I have to be worried about?"

"You should go and speak to Natasha" suggested Fury, ignoring her comments

"Why?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at him

"Just do it"

Clara bit her cheek, tightening her jaw, before folding her arms over her chest. She eyed Fury, turning her back on him, stalking off in search of Natasha.

"Fury said I needed to talk to you" said Clara, walking up to Natasha, her arms still folded, "Is there something you need to tell me? Or is the old man going senile?"

"Loki's got Clint"

"What?" She asked, unfolding her arms, her eyes widening, "How?"

"Loki used his sceptor to put him under some sort of mind control" Natasha explained

Her thoughts turned to her close friend. She had known Clint for over a decade, had been the one to introduce him to SHIELD, and now he'd been taken. If global destruction wasn't enough of an instigator for her, then the brainwashing of one of her closest friends had to be.

"And what's the plan to get him back?"

"Catch Loki" said Natasha

"Easier said then done" she muttered, "This is gonna get messy"

"That's just how I like it" said Natasha, a small smirk on her face

"Don't we both"

* * *

 **So there it is, hope you all enjoyed it. It's a lot to take in, but please tell me what you think, and any predictions you may have.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners.**

* * *

 **Review Response**

 **No Clara is not Tony's mother, but there will be a lot of tension between them.**

* * *

 _"The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind."_

 _Kiran Desai_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

Clara had set out for the Helicarrier as soon as she'd received the news about Clint and Loki. Fury had decided it best that she not collect the others, seeing that she definitely wouldn't be the one to inspire co-operation among them.

"Any luck with finding Clint?" Clara asked Natasha, as they walked through the hangar towards the newly arrived quinjet.

"Nothing yet" said Natasha

"Don't worry, we'll find him" Clara assured her, "And until then, we can occupy ourselves with the incredibly enjoyable task of taking down an almost literal God"

"When has the impossible ever been a problem for us?" Natasha asked, Coulson and Steve exiting the quinjet, "What is it that you always say?"

"It's not impossible just improbable" she answered, as they neared the men, "Always works to encourage people"

Clara looked over at Steve, even though she'd seen him before since he'd woken up, it still felt like the first time in seventy years. His clothes were even old-fashioned, his hair still styled as it was. For a second it seemed as if no time had passed at all. But then she saw how he avoided her gaze, his body tensing, hers reacting with just as much tension.

"Agent Romanoff" said Coulson, "This is Captain Rogers"

"Mam" said Steve, nodding curtly at Clara

"Hi" replied Natasha, before turning to Phil, "They need you on the bridge, they're starting the face trace"

"I'll see you there" nodded Phil, walking past them and back inside

"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice" said Natasha, as they began walking, Clara falling into step next to Steve, "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?" Steve asked

"They're vintage" said Natasha, "He's very proud"

"Saying he's a fan is a bit of an understatement" Clara told him, "He's asked me a million questions about you"

Steve nodded at her, clearly still unsure of how to act around her. She looked away from him, coughing to hide her embarrassment. She didn't think that things would be like they were back in the 40s, but she hadn't expected this level of awkwardness. Even when they'd first met, things had never been as awkward as they were now.

"Doctor Banner" said Steve, as Clara crossed her arms, straightening her stance and steeling her face

"Yeah, hi" said Banner, taking Steve's hand and shaking it, "They told me you'd be coming"

"Word is you can find the cube" said Steve

"And...uh, is that the only word, on me?" Asked Banner, his gaze flicking over the hanger, as his hands fiddling together

"It's the only word I care about" said Steve

"I'm gonna go inform Fury of their arrival" Clara told Natasha

She cast one last gaze towards Steve, before turning her back and heading inside. She guessed that she probably should have spent more time with Steve when he'd woken up, helped him get used to this new world. But she just couldn't. Even visiting him when he was asleep after they'd found him was hard. Thoughts of Steve, led to thoughts of Bucky, which led to thoughts of Howard, which led her further and further down a very painful memory lane. Steve was a living reminder of everything she had tried to forget. Of everything, and everyone, that she had lost.

"Steve and Banner are here" she said to Fury, walking up to the platform, "Natasha's bringing them inside"

"And has Rogers spoken to you?" Asked Fury

"If a nod counts" she said

"Well, maybe you should have visited him when I told you to" he said smugly

"Don't you dare say I told you so" she grimaced, "There are more factors involved in my decisions then you are aware of"

"I'm sure" he nodded, she glared at him but did not go into further explanation of her decision making,

"Where are we with finding Loki?" She asked, "He doesn't seem the type to hide away, he'll create a spectacle soon enough"

"And we'll find him when he does" said Fury,

"That might be too late" she pointed out, "He's already got a death count, he obviously has no problem with casualties"

"It may be the only way" said Fury

"I know that"

Before they could continue, they were interrupted when Natasha led Steve and Banner into the room, turning to watch both of them. Steve was looking around the room in amazement, whilst Banner was uncomfortable, his eyes shooting towards the guards and their guns, his hands fumbling. Steve didn't look at her as she kept her eyes trained on him.

"You need to stop watching him, it's getting creepy" Natasha told her, as she walked past

"It is not" she grumbled

"We're at level sir" Maria announced to Fury

"Good, let's vanish" ordered Fury, before turning around to face Steve and Banner, "Gentlemen"

Fury walked towards the desk, Steve meeting him, pulling out his wallet and handing Fury a ten dollar note. Fury smirked as he took it, before continuing on to Banner.

"Impressive, isn't it" Clara said to Steve, as she approached him

"Definitely something new" he said,

The pair of of them began to walk around the room, Steve taking it all in. She desperately wanted to reach out to him, to ease his discomfort in some way. But the brush of her hand against his only heightened his unease, it almost seemed as though her touch had burned him, the speed at which he pulled away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"It can be a bit overwhelming" she said, shaking off his reaction, "But you'll get used to it. One day"

"One day" Steve scoffed

Clara raised her eyebrow, but said nothing. Steve was still aclimitizing himself to the normal technology of the time. The Helicarrier, was something that would astound anyone of this age.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet" said Coulson, after Banner had inquired about the search for the cube, "Cellphones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us"

"That's still not going to find them in time" mused Natasha, squatting down to look at one of the screens

"You have to narrow your field" said Banner, "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Asked Fury

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put them on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays" said Banner, taking off his jacket and rolling it up, "I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff" called out Fury, Natasha standing up and walking towards him, "Can you show Dr Banner to his laboratory?"

"You'll love it, doc, we've got all the toys" said Natasha as she led him away

* * *

Clara watched Coulson and Steve talking, finding Coulson's fangirling to be almost adorable. She grinned, knowing that this was Coulson childhood dream come true, and that all the attention made Steve very uncomfortable.

"We got a hit" said Sitwell, "67% match, wait cross match, 79% match"

"Location?" Asked Coulson, walking over to the computer

"Stuttgart, Germany" replied Sitwell, "28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding"

"Captain" said Fury, "You're up"

"Nick" said Clara, walking up to him, "Something's not right about this"

"Explain" he said, turning to face her

"Why is Loki in Germany? What's there that he wants?" She asked, "And why didn't he hide his face, hm? If he has a plan, how does this fit in?"

"You're suspicious" said Fury, "Good, I trust your gut. Stay here"

"Why?" She asked, crossing her arms, "You trust my gut, but you don't trust me around Steve"

"Not yet" he said, "Right now I don't trust either of you around each other. Too much history, too uncertain"

"And you hate to be uncertain" she said disdainfully,

"You're more useful to me here" he said, "Steve can look after himself"

"I don't doubt that" she claimed, causing Fury to raise his eyebrows, "Okay, so I'm worried. You can't blame me. He's been stuck in the ice for seventy years and now he's going up against someone who's basically a god. Not the most reassuring of circumstances"

"Stark will be there to help too"

"Because Steve and Tony are completely compatible to work together" she said sardonically, "Tony doesn't play ball with anyone"

"We need something to inspire him" suggested Fury

"For what? The Avengers?" She asked, "You didn't even want Tony on the team"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" said Fury

"Don't we know it" she mused, walking away from him

* * *

"Fury not letting you out?" Natasha asked her

"No, he's keeping the leash pretty tight" she joked, "So don't have too much fun without me"

"I'll try not to" said Natasha, "How are the kid's?"

"Haven't gotten much of a chance to speak to them recently, work keeps me busy" she said,

"Agents of SHIELD don't have social lives" joked Natasha, causing Clara to chuckle

"Tessa sent me a video of Leo's first steps" she said, "I'm hoping this will all be resolved by next month, I can't miss my grandson's first birthday"

"Will still not making any progress in the baby department?" Natasha asked

"No, he's a workaholic that one" said Clara

"Wonder where he gets that from" teased Natasha

"I am not a workaholic" she tried to defend herself, but Natasha just raised her eyebrow in disbelief, "Okay, so I work a lot, but I do have a life outside my work. Okay I don't, but...I've got nothing. I should take up a hobby"

"Knitting" suggested Natasha, "I could take you to the nearest nursing home, you could reminisce with other old people"

"You're not funny" Clara told her, shaking her head, but a grin was on her face, "I'm going to go and talk to Steve, or at least attempt to"

"Goodbye, grandma"

Clara shook her head at her friend, chuckling at Natasha's antics as she walked away. Along with Clint, Natasha was her closest friend. She was among the few that doubted Clint's decision to recruit her for SHIELD, and it wasn't because she viewed Natasha as simply an asset, no, she'd wanted to help Natasha. She knew what it was like to be made into a weapon, left with no identity outside of your missions. And in helping Natasha, she'd gained herself a lifelong friend.

She found Steve just after he'd finished suiting up. The new uniform was not dissimilar to the one he'd worn when he was performing, looking far less practical then his old uniform, and far more flashy.

"Bet it feels weird" she said, causing him to look around at her, "Being back in uniform"

"Actually, this is the most normal I've felt in awhile" he told her, "Are you coming with us?"

"No, Fury isn't overly trusting of us together" she explained, causing Steve's eyebrows to raise, "We make him uncertain, it's not something he enjoys. He can't predict how we'll act around each other, and to be honest neither can I"

Steve didn't say anything, he just nodded, but Clara thought it was only because he didn't know what to say. And if she was honest, she wasn't sure what to say either.

"I'm sorry we haven't spoken much" she said, "It was just, hard, seeing you, still is. I thought you were dead for such a long time, you and Bucky. But there was never any body, the not knowing...it killed me"

 _It killed all of us_ , she thought to herself. The uncertainty of his death postponed their closure. None of them knew for certain what had happened to him. And some spent years trying to find him.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you" he said, "You don't deserve it. I can't imagine what you've been through"

"Yes you can, you're going through it right now" she said, resisting the urge to reach out her hand to squeeze his arm, "I'm sorry that the first time you get to see the world since you woke up you have to go back to Germany. It really is quite lovely nowadays"

"You've been?" He asked

"Yeah, travelled all over the world actually" she said, "S'pose you see a lot when you have an abundance of time"

Travelling had been Clara's escape for many years. She could be anybody she wanted to be. Carve out a new identity for herself, with none of her baggage. She was free to be the person she wanted to be. Not that she really knew who that was.

"You always wanted to see the world" he said, and Clara's lips pulled into a smile, surprised he'd remembered that

An awkward silence fell on them, as they stared at each other's face, neither knowing what to say, but both wanting to say something. She'd never really looked at Steve's face. Of course she'd seen it before. But she'd never studied it, her eyes roaming over every inch, the shape of his jaw, the curve of his lips. She'd never noticed before the exact shade of blue his eyes were. And she didn't know if she truly had never noticed these things before, or that maybe it had all just faded with time. After all, she buried most of her memories under nonchalance and stoicism.

"Um, uh, I better go" she stammered, clearing her throat as she looked down at her feet, finally noticing how close he was to her, "Um, stay safe, okay"

"I will" he promised her, moving his body away from hers. His movement made Clara feel as if she had done something wrong, but she was also thankful for it. Being around Steve made her too unsure, she couldn't predict how either of them would act. Things were different, incredibly so, then what she remembered things being between them.

"I'll see you when I get back" he told her, and she nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground, not wanting to look up at him, afraid that her eyes would betray her.

Steve opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something. But whatever it was, he held it back, throwing her one last glance before retreating from the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners.**

* * *

 _"No human can bury their past indefinitely. It's only a matter of time before you crack."_

 _K.A. Tucker_

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

"They've got Loki" said Fury, "They're bringing him in now"

"That was fast" she said, "Too fast"

"You think this is part of his plan?" Asked Fury

"Most definitely" she said, "Maybe that was the point of his little show"

"And why do you think he would want to be a prisoner?" Asked Fury

"I don't know" she shrugged, "It just feels like he's three steps ahead planning his next move and we're not even on the board. I don't like it"

"I want you to watch Loki when he gets here," said Fury, "See if you can figure out what he wants. Go to the lab, he'll walk right by there"

"Okay" she nodded, setting off for the lab

She knew that Fury thought he was helping her, in his own way, by forcing her to speak to Bruce. He believed it would relieve some of her guilt, if she saw that he was completely functional. But her guilt ran far deeper then just Banner. Her guilt was an ocean and she was drowning in it, and had been for awhile.

"How is the search for the cube going?" Clara asked Banner, as she walked into the lab, flicking her braid over her shoulder

"It's coming along" he shrugged, eyeing her, "Have you come to babysit me?"

"Not in the slightest" she replied, leaning against the desk, "Actually, I'm here because Loki will walk straight past here on his way to his cell. I want to watch him covertly"

"So, I'm a cover" he said

"Exactly" she said, grinning at him, "I'm surprised you came. If I was you, well, I wouldn't be anywhere near here"

"Yeah, Natasha can be very...persuasive"

"I'm sure" she muttered, "I'm sorry about what happened to you, you didn't deserve any of this"

"Thanks" he muttered, "I guess"

Clara knew that her condolences meant nothing to him, but it at least made her feel better. She couldn't properly apologize for tracking him, as she was not allowed to reveal that particular piece of information.

Clara looked up, watching as Loki was led past the laboratory, his arms secured and he was escorted by guards, but his presence near her still caused her unease. But it was the intent way he watched Banner, with an almost haughty expression on his face, that unsettled her the most. If Loki wanted Bruce, then he wanted the Hulk.

She could sense the confusion in Bruce's mind, like a cloud turning his mind murky, unclear. Even if she didn't reach her mind into his, a feat all too familiar, she could still tell that Loki was influencing it in some way. The confusion was much the same as it was after on of his incidents. It had always been hard for her to track him after he had hulked out, his mind not knowing where the Hulk stopped and Banner began.

" _Clara, come up to the control room_ " she heard Fury in the coms, " _Bring Banner_ "

"Copy" she answered, turning to Banner, "We're needed in the control room"

He nodded to her, and the pair of them made their way up to the control room. Clara sat down next to Natasha, watching the screen to see Fury standing outside of Loki's cell.

"In case it's unclear. You try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass, 30, 000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works" Fury told him, "Ant" she said gesturing to Loki, before gesturing to the screen, "Boot"

"It's an impressive cage" said Loki, "Not built I think, for me"

"Built for something a lot stronger then you" said Fury

"Oh I've heard. A mindless beast, makes play he's still a man" said Loki, causing Clara to shoot a sideways look at Banner. Loki had just confirmed her theory, he wanted the Hulk, but for what she did not know, "How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you"

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun" said Fury, "You have made me very desperate, and you might not be glad that you did"

"Ooh, it burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract in your hands, to have power, unlimited power" said Loki, "And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is"

"Well, let me know if real power wants a magazine or something"

Clara sighed, sitting back as the screen closed. Whatever Loki's plan was, judging by his demeanor, things were definitely going his way.

"He really grows on you" said Banner, "Doesn't he?"

"Loki's gonna drag this out" said Steve, "So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army, called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor an world known " answered Thor, "He means to lead them against your people, they will win him the earth, in return I suspect for the Tesseract"

"An army" said Steve, still struggling to believe what he was hearing, "From outer space"

"So, he's building another portal" said Banner, "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for"

"Selvig?" questioned Thor

"Yeah, he's an astrophysicist" explained Banner

"He's a friend" implored Thor

"Loki has him under some kind of spell" said Natasha, her body tensing, "Along with one of ours"

Clara's jaw hardened, at the mention of her friend. She was anxious to get Clint back, before Loki could do any further damage to him. Or God forbid, kill him.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him" said Steve, pointing out Clara's very suspicions, "He's not leading an army from here"

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki" said Banner, "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him"

"Have care how you speak" warned Thor, "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother"

"He killed eighty people in two days" stated Natasha

"He's adopted"

"I think it's about the mechanics" said Banner, "Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent"

Clara turned around, to see Tony walking into the room alongside Coulson. Seeing Tony was just as painful as the first time they met. She saw so much of his father in him. Which, of course, only brought about a longing for another life, and an intense feeling of loneliness.

"Means, the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD" explained Tony, walking over to Thor, "No hard feelings point break, he said to him, patting his arm, "You got a mean swing"

"Also, means that the portal can stay open as wide, and as long, as Loki wants" said Tony, walking over to the controls, muttering a few incoherent commands, "That man is playing galaga" he loudly announced, pointing over to his right, "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did"

"How does Fury even see these?" He asked, covering his eye with his hand, testing it out

Clara snorted, knowing perfectly well the capabilities of a blind man.

"He turns" deadpanned Maria

"Sounds exhausting" he mused, "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major components he still needs is a power source, of high energy density. Something to..kickstart the cube"

"When did you become an expert in thermo-nuclear astrophysics?" Asked Maria

"Last night" Tony shrugged, earning himself a puzzled look from Maria, "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"I don't do homework I don't understand" Clara told him

"Does Loki need any particular type of power source?" Asked Steve

"He'd have to heat the cube to 120 million kelvin just to break through the coolum barrier" said Banner

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnel effect" said Tony

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy iron fusion at any reactor on the planet"

"Finally" said Tony, in mock exasperation, "Someone who speaks English"

"Is that what just happened?" Asked Steve, voicing the confusion that everybody else was also currently experiencing

"Apparently" said Clara

"It's nice to meet you Dr Banner" said Tony, shaking his hand, "Your work on anti-electron collision is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you loose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster"

Clara shook her head at Tony, but couldn't help the slight grin. Tony was as humourous as he is annoying.

"Dr Banner is here to track the cube only" said Fury, walking into the room, "I was hoping you would join him"

"I'd start with that stick of his" said Steve, "It might be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon"

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube" said Fury, "And I would like to know how it turned two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys"

"Monkeys?" Asked Thor, "I do not understand"

"I do" called out Steve, gleefully, "I understood that reference"

Clara broke out into an all out grin, amused by the pride in Steve's voice.

"Shall we play, doctor?" Tony asked Banner

"This way" replied Banner, as they both walked towards the lab

* * *

Clara was walked up to Coulson, who was standing by one of the screens in the control room.

"I like your work on the uniform" she told him, "Bit showy, but it works"

"I wanted to ask for your input" he said, "But Fury discouraged it"

"Yeah, I might've broken down into tears" she said, covering it with a laugh, "Don't know how well you deal with tearful women"

"I can hold my own" he assured her

"Well that's a rarity among men" she said, "How's the cellist?"

"Moved to Portland" he explained, "We decided not to do long distance"

"Long distance isn't for everyone" she shrugged, "Maybe it'll be a pianist next, or, what do they call the people that play triangles?"

"I don't think they get called anything" he said

"Disappointing for them" she said, "Note to self, if I ever join an orchestra don't play the triangle"

"I didn't know you were musically inclined" he said

"Not at all" she said, "In absolutely no way"

"Not one of your many talents?" He asked

"No, I have many talents but musical instruments evade me" she said, "Along with ironing, though that's mostly by choice"

"So I'll just keep to getting my clothes drycleaned?" He asked

"Yes" she replied, noticing Fury talking to Natasha, "Nice chat" she said to Coulson, before moving over to Fury and Natasha

"Interrogate Loki, see what he wants" she heard Fury order Natasha

"Whatever he wants has something to do with Bruce" she told them, "And his plan is coming along just fine"

"I'll see what I can do" said Natasha, walking away from them

"Be careful" Clara said to her, "I know you can handle this, just don't let Loki get to you, not even a little bit"

"You know I won't" Natasha assured her

"I'm going to go and see how Tony and Bruce are settling in" she said, nodding to Natasha before walking away

Clara was unsure as to how Tony would act around her. Tensions had been running high the last time they spoke, which had incidentally also been the first time, and it was only at Fury's insistence that she agreed to meet him. All the years didn't lessen the blow. Tony was a living reminder of his father. An agonizing could have been. An eternally unanswered question.

"It's okay" assured Banner, as Clara walked into the lab, her eyes flicking over to Steve, surprised by his presence, "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things"

"You're tip-toeing big man" said Tony, "You need to strut"

"And you need to focus on the problem Mr Stark" warned Steve

Clara raised her eyebrow, coming up to stand beside Steve. Clearly she'd walked into a heated, but interesting, conversation.

"You think I'm not" said Tony, "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us?" He asked, all completely valid questions as far as Clara was concerned, "I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables"

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Asked Steve

"He's a spy, Captain, he's THE spy. His secrets have secrets" said Tony

"He's not wrong" said Clara

"See" said Tony, gesturing to Clara before eating a handful berries from the packet, "And it's bugging him too, isn't it?"

"Uh...I...um, I just want to finish my work here and" stammered Banner

"Doctor" insisted Steve, causing Banner to sigh in defeat

"A warm light for all mankind" said Banner, "Loki's jab to Fury about the cube"

"I heard it" said Steve

"Well, I think that was meant for you" said Banner, gesturing to Tony, who in turn offered him some berries, "Even if Agent Barton didn't tell Loki about the Tower it was still all over the news"

"The Stark Tower, that big ugly" started Steve, earning himself a disgruntled look from Tony, "Building in New York"

"It's powered by an arc reactor, self sustaining energy source" explained Banner, "That thing can run itself for what, a year?"

"And that's just a prototype" said Tony proudly, "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that's what he's getting at"

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?" Asked Banner. _Because of his gigantic ego_ , she thought to herself, and decided to keep it to herself, "What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program's finished breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files" said Tony

"Wait, what?" She asked, "Seriously Tony"

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge" he explained, "In a few short hours I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has tried to hide" he told them, before holding out the packet to them, "Blueberry?"

"And yet you're confused about why they didn't want you on board" said Steve

"An intelligence organisation that fears intelligence" said Tony, "Historically not awesome"

"Believe me, SHIELD definetly doesn't fear intelligence" she mumbled

"Loki's trying to wind us up" said Steve, "This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused he'll succeed" he looked at each of them, but Clara was just as suspicious as the other two, "We have orders, we should follow them"

"Following's never really been my style" shrugged Tony

"And you're all about style" replied Steve

"Of the people in this room, who is a, wearing a spangly outfit, and b, not of use" said Tony, causing Steve's jaw to tighten, and Clara to glare at him

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Asked Banner

"Just find the cube" he said, after some deliberation over Banner's question, before stalking out of the lab

"You couldn't attempt to get along?" Clara asked Tony

"Are you saying that you think there's nothing going on here?" He asked her

"Of course not, I think you're completely right in your suspicions" she said, "But could you at least try to play nicely, I know it's not your thing, but an attempt would be good"

"You're not my mother" said Tony

"No, I'm not" she mumbled, before turning around abruptly and following after Steve.

The jab hurt, as she was sure Tony intended it to. Maybe, in some slight way, she was trying to parent him. Maybe she thought she owed that to Howard. Whatever her reasoning though, she knew that it would take awhile for Tony to be receptive towards her.

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked the chapter, and that it gives a bit more insight into Clara's past. Please tell me what you think, I love to hear from you, a certain line is a foreshadowing of sort, wonder if anyone can find it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners.**

 **I just posted a story title Better in Time, set directly after the Soldier and the Nurse, that takes place during the first season of Agent Carter. Here's the link** : s/11476880/1/Better-in-Time

* * *

 _"I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you."_

 _Friedrich Nietzsche_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

"Where are you going?" She asked

"To find out what Fury's hiding" he said, "Are you going to stop me?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of helping you" she said defensively

"You're going to ignore Fury's orders?" He asked

"Wouldn't be the first time" she shrugged, nonchalantly "Fury has a habit of keeping secrets from me, it's a point of contention between us"

"He doesn't tell you anything?" He asked

"He tells me what he thinks I need to know in order to complete the mission done" she explained, "He didn't tell me he was searching for you, sent me on a long term mission"

"Why?"

"Your guess is a good as mine" she said, but she knew perfectly well why Fury hadn't told her about Steve. If she'd known then the cracks in her demeanor would have torn her apart. And SHIELD would have lost one of it's best agents.

So he sent her out on a mission, simply gathering intel, but of course she had over complicate the situation with feelings. She always did.

"Where did he send you?" Steve asked, "Or is that classified too?"

Clara tensed her jaw, folding her arms over her chest, she knew that Steve has every right to be angered by her secret keeping. But she was a spy, even if it wasn't a part of her job, keeping secrets was in her nature. It had been ingrained into her for decades.

"It's not because I don't trust you Steve" she said honestly, "It's just...complicated"

It was the best explanation she good give him. She couldn't explain that if she told him every SHIELD secret she knew then Fury would never share anything with her again.

"If there's anything being hidden here I know where to find it" she said, dropping her arms to her side, "I'll show you"

She walked with purpose, Steve following behind her, relying on her demeanor to discourage anyone from interfering with them. The path she took was mostly empty, and the few agents she did see were all too busy to notice her. She led Steve down to the secure storage, she wasn't authorised to be there, so she knew that Fury had to be hiding something there.

"You'll have to force the door open" she told Steve, who moved past her, gripping the door in his hands

"Wait" she warned, hearing the distinct sound of footsteps. Grabbing onto his arm, her ears listening out to see if the noise would grow louder, but it did not,

Clara turned her head back around to look up at Steve, who in turn was staring down at where her hand was touching his arm. She could see the slight blushing of his cheeks, much in the same way he used to react around her when her and Bucky had first started dating. And she could feel the heat in her own cheeks, but she shook it off, knowing that it was not the time nor place for these thoughts and feelings. Whatever it was that she was thinking and feeling.

"Steve" she whispered, her voice quieter then she intended, pulling her hand away, crossing her arms once more

The door was easy for Steve to pull open, both quickly glancing behind them before entering. Clara kept watching behind them, as Steve opened up on of the boxes. The items in the box were easily recognizable to both of them, and Clara now understood why Fury was keeping his plans a secret from her.

"Goddam son of a bitch" she growled, clenching her fists

How dare Fury use the Tesseract to make weapons, just as Hydra had done. That was why he had sent her away, so that he could freely orchestrate his plan without any interference. Because she could respect his role as her superior, but this crossed too many lines for her.

* * *

The pair of them were fuming as they stormed back to the lab, Clara almost wanted an agent to question them just so she could work out some of her anger, but thankfully they didn't come across anyone. The worst part wasn't that Fury was using Hydra technology and the Tesseract to create weapons, but rather, the fact that she wasn't at all surprised by it. She knew that Fury was fond of preemptive strikes, and she could understand that, but Hydra had murdered Bucky, and Steve had sacrificed himself to keep the Tesseract out of human hands. To her, it was personal.

"What is Phase Two?" Asked Tony, as they walked into the room

"Phase Two is SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons" said Steve, depositing the gun onto the table, Clara taking her place next to him, squaring her shoulders as she crossed her arms, glaring straight at Fury, "Sorry, computer was working a little slow"

"Rogers, we gathered everything to do with the Tesseract" Fury tried to assure them, though it did nothing to soothe their concerns, "This does not mean that we"

"I'm sorry, what were you lying, Nick?" Asked Tony, moving the screen to show them plans for a Tesseract powered missile

"I was wrong director, the world hasn't changed a bit" said Steve

"Did you know about this?" Banner asked Natasha, as she and Thor walked into the room

"You might want to think about removing yourself from this environment" Natasha suggested

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed" Banner pointed out

"Loki is manipulating you" said Natasha, walking up to him

"And you've been doing what exactly?" Banner sarcastically asked

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you"

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy" he said back, pulling over the screen, "I'd like to know why SHIELD's building weapons of mass destruction"

"Because of him" said Fury, pointing over to Thor

"Me?" Asked Thor

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet that had a grudge match that levelled a small town" Fury explained, stepping forwards, "We learnt that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned"

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet" defended Thor

"But you're not the only people out there, are you" Fury stated, "And you're not the only threat. The world is filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled"

Clara stiffened at his words, knowing that she was included on that list was not something that helped her sleep easy at night.

"Like you control the cube?" Asked Steve

"Your work with the Tesseract is what brought Loki to it, and his allies" said Thor, "It is a signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of warfare"

"Higher form?" Said Steve

"You forced our hand, we had to come up with" started Fury

"A nuclear deterrent" interjected Tony, "Because that always calms everything done"

"Remind me again how you made your fortune" said Fury, derisively

"I'm sure if he still made weapons Stark would be neck deep in this" said Steve

"Wait, hold on, how is this now about me?" Asked Tony

"I'm sorry, isn't everything" said Steve, Clara tilting her head in private agreement

"I thought humans were more evolved then this" said Thor

"Excuse me, do we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Asked Fury

Clara watched on as they all began to argue, emotions were running high, and she could feel the tension in the air. But their minds were clouded, some outside force influencing them. She could feel it trying to sneak it's away into her head, but she stamped it out before it got the chance. But her anger at Fury was not caused by any outside influence, reverberating around her chest, filling her body all the way to her fingers and toes.

"How could you Nick?" She hissed, "This is low, even for you. This is why you sent me on a mission, you wanted me out of the way"

"I didn't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation" countered Fury

"Because you're just oh so generous aren't you" she spat, "The worst thing is that I'm not at all surprised. This is just typical of you"

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos" interrupted Thor

"That's his m.o isn't it" said Banner, "What are we, a team? No, no, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos, we're...we're a timebomb"

"You need to remove yourself from the situation" Fury ordered him

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Asked Tony

"You know damn well why" warned Steve, "Back off"

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me" said Tony

"Oh, yeah" said Steve, moving closer to Tony, "Big man in a suit of armour, take that off and what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" stated Tony, matter-of-fact

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you" said Steve, "And I've seen the footage, the only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you"

"I think I would just cut the wire" admitted Tony

"Always a way out" said Steve, "You know, you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero"

"A hero? Like you?" Said Tony, stepping closer, "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle"

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds" said Steve

By this time, Clara had had more then enough of their petty argument, and thought it about time to break it up.

"That's enough" she said, stepping in between them, pressing her hand against Steve's chest to push him away. "This is exactly what Loki wants"

"Oh yeah, this is a team" muttered Banner

"Agent Romanoff, will you escort Dr Banner back to his" started Fury

"Where? You rented my room" said Banner

"The cell was just in case -"

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't, I know I tried" said Banner, causing Clara's eyes to widen, her jaw to drop in shock,"I got low, I didn't see an end. So I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on, I focused on other people, I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show. You want to know my secret Agent Romanoff, you want to know how I stay calm"

Clara's hands instantly moved to the handle of her gun, the muscles in her body tightening with anticipation, as she eyes the sceptor in Banner's hand. Steve moved his body in front of hers, more of an instinctual movement of protection then anything.

"Dr Banner" said Steve, "Put down the sceptor"

Banner looked down at the sceptor, seemingly noticing for the first time that he was even holding it. Everyone's attention was drawn away, as the computer began to go off.

"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick" he said, putting down the sceptor and walking over to the computer

Clara followed after him and Natasha, though she kept her eyes on Steve and Tony, just in case she had to jump in and break up a fight. She would be lying if she said that she did not find their arguments ever so slightly amusing, but she knew that she wouldn't let it go past harsh words thrown at one another.

"Oh my God" muttered Banner

"What?" She asked, her head snapping round to look at him

But before he could answer, the middle of the room burst into flames, the explosion causing the ground beneath Clara to collapse. She fell face first down onto a grate, the contact causing her to momentarily loose consciousness.

It was only a few minutes before her eyes opened, but it was enough time for Bruce to lose control.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it, very intense, left it on a bit of a cliffhanger.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners**

* * *

 _"Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides."_

 _Andre Malraux_

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

"We're okay" she heard Natasha say, groaning as she looked up to see a pipe lying on Natasha's leg, preventing her from moving, "We're okay right" she said again, but her voice wavered this time

Clara looked over to Banner, to see him groaning, struggling to stay in control. The Hulk just waiting to burst out and viciously murder them.

"Shit" she muttered, pulling herself up

"Doctor, Bruce" said Natasha, "You gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay, listen to me. We're gonna be okay. I swear on my life, I will get you out of this, you will walk away and never -"

"Your life?" growled Bruce, though Clara was not sure if it was still him

Banner's shirt began to tear, as he slid off the grate, his body transforming into the Hulk. Soon he would be fully transformed, and they would be very dead.

Clara flicked out her hand, the pipe moving off of Natasha's legs. She grabbed onto Natasha's arm, hauling her up to her feet.

"Let's go" she said, pulling Natasha towards the stairs, sparing a look back long enough to see that Banner was gone, and the Hulk had taken his place

The pair of them raced up the stairs, sliding around the pipes, ducking underneath them. Each step they took was agonizing, desperately trying to make as least noise as possible. Clara reigned in her quick breaths and battering heart, loss of control would do no one any good. It seemed to almost become darker, as every shadow looked like it could be him, every noise could be him coming closer, every step could be one closer to finding him poised and ready to kill them.

For a second, it seemed like they were in the clear, but that blissful unawareness was cut short by a roar, the Hulk smashing towards.

Natasha shot at the pipe above them, hoping that the smoke emitted would distract the hulk long enough for them to get away. But even as they ran away, Clara knew it was futile. The Hulk had it in his mind that they were to be his next victims. But she'd be damned if she'd go down without a fight.

But no matter their efforts, the Hulk soon caught up with them, running straight through the glass in his pursuit of them. He swiped out his arm, sending Natasha flying through the air and straight into the wall, as if she were nothing more then a rag doll.

Clara threw her arms out, placing herself in between the Hulk and Natasha, creating a barrier between them. It took all her energy to hold back the Hulk, pushing him back as he tried to attack. Clara let out a groan, as the Hulk attempted to take a step towards them, only for her to hold him back.

Her shoulders slumped as Thor flew through the room, taking the Hulk with him and into the next. She stumbled a little, as she moved over to Natasha, who was huddled up against the wall, pale and sweaty.

"Natasha, are you okay?" She asked breathily, crouching down next to her almost catatonic teammate, "Natasha"

"I'm fine" Natasha said, but it wouldn't take a genius to figure out she was lying

"No, you're not" said Clara, "Are you hurt? Or just shaken? Or both?"

"I'm not hurt" said Natasha

"So, just shaken up" assumed Clara, "Guess this is your first time being chased by a giant green rage monster" she said, "Well, mine too. Can't say I want to repeat the experience"

Natasha managed a small upturn of the lips, but all Clara had to do was look in her eyes, to see that there was far more going through her head.

" _Clara, you need to get up here_ " she heard Fury say through the telecom, " _We have hostiles onboard, stop them from getting to Stark and Rogers_ "

"Roger that" said Clara, getting up, looking down at Natasha, "I'll be back"

Natasha didn't object, and Clara didn't expect her to, simply nodding her head slightly. Clara didn't wait for her to say anything else, before running off.

Clara had almost made it to Engine One, when a bullet just skimmed past her head. She grabbed onto the stair railing, jumping over and onto the floor, taking cover behind the wall. She looked up to see the shooter moving closer, and just as he was about to mount the stairs, she swiftly slide under the them.

She slowly crept to the side, watching the shooter, but making sure to stay out of his sight. The man moved to the opposite side of the stairs, angling his gun against the railing towards her previous position. Clara took this as her opening.

Clara jumped up, grabbing onto the stair railing, and using it to swing underneath. Before the man could even acknowledge her whereabouts, she had stretched out her legs, kicking his out from under his.

The man caused a loud thud as his body hit the stairs, letting out a groan. Clara stood up, tearing the gun out of his hands, she swung it at him, immediately knocking him out. She moved her hands to grip the gun, ready to take out any more adversaries that came her way.

Clara started running up the stairs again, only stopping when she heard footsteps. She backed up against the wall, listending out, as the two men neared her position. Just as they passed her, she stepped out, and before the first man could fire his gun, she had grabbed ahold of it. Wrenching it from his hands, she used it to smack him in the face with it. She then delivered a swift kick to his abdomen, sending him flying back into the other man, knocking his gun from his hands.

She pulled out her dagger from her belt, running up to them, she embedded it into the front man's neck. Pushing her legs to swing around, wrapping them around the other man's neck, snapping it. She removed the blade from the man's neck, wiping the blood off on his shirt, before standing up.

The bodies lay limp, one neck bloodied the other mangled, as she stepped over them casually, to climb the last set of stairs. She could see one of the men shooting at Steve, and aimed her gun at him. But before she could fire, Tony flew over, taking the man with him.

"Why you gotta ruin my fun?" Clara jokingly asked Tony, stepping out from behind the wall, "I had him"

"Sorry" muttered Tony, looking up at her, "Thought I was saving your boyfriend"

Clara rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his antics. She didn't have the energy to be hurt by the more then jesting in his tone. The fact that he was alive was enough for her to shrug his comments off.

"You okay?" Steve asked her, his eyes trailing over her, checking for any apparent injury

"Fantastic" she said dryly

" _Agent Coulson is down_ " she heard Fury through the telecom, her mouth falling into a grim line

" _We have medical on its way to your location_ " said another voice

" _They're here_ " said Fury, " _They called it_ "

Clara's head fell, her jaw clenching, eyes hardening. Phil was dead. Her friend was dead. Her wide, blank eyes bored into the ground. A good man was dead. A good man that had been kind to her. She should've been there. She should've helped. She could've saved him.

"Clara" whispered Steve, Clara's head snapping up to look at him, her cold expression unnerving him

She shook it off, her face returning to its emotionless state, tearing off towards her room. Only just noticing the blood left over from the mostly healed cut on her forehead, she realised what a sight she must be, resolving to clean herself up immediately.

The blood was easy for her to wash off her forehead, not having yet dried, and she was glad that the wound was superficial, easily healed. Her hair had been re-braided, impeccable once more. Her hands scrubbed frantically at the basin with the water, trying to clean the blood from it.

The mirror's reflection was improving, far better then it had been, one with unruly hair and a bloodied forehead. Because, like her grandmother always said, appearances are everything.

A knock on the door caused her to kNick the brush off the basin, clattering into the floor. She quickly picked up the brush, placing it carefully on the bedside table as she moved towards the door. She opened the door slightly, peering outside to see Steve, his sympathetic expression enough to convince her to let him in.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, clearly not enquiring to her physical well being

"Fine" she said stoically

"I'm sorry about Coulson" he said, "I know you were friends"

"It's okay" she said, taking a seat on her bed, "At least now I can channel my grief into saving the world from a psychotic god. Wow, never thought I'd say that. Though, this whole situation is pretty unbelievable"

"You could say that. Don't get too comfortable" advised Steve, unsure about what to say to her, sitting down next to her, "You'll have to wait awhile for sleep"

"That's okay, don't sleep much anyway" she said, noticing both the concern and understanding on Steve's face, she quickly continued, "You get used to functioning on less sleep when caring for infants"

"Have you seen your kids recently?" He asked

"Not for awhile, but Tessa's the only one I see regularly" she said, "Thomas travels now that he's retired from the army, doing some soul searching I guess. And Will, I guess you could kinda call him the black sheep of the family. Total workaholic, doesn't enjoy my dissaproval of his job with the CIA"

"You work for SHIELD and you disapprove of his job?" He asked

"I never wanted my children to follow in my footsteps" she said, "And especially not with the CIA"

"Why?" He asked, leaning his elbows onto his thighs

Clara looked up at him, surprised to see his expression so unguarded. He knew he was asking her to detail a difficult time in her life, and was trusting her to do so. Trusting her to be honest with him. But he would not enjoy her honesty, no more then she would.

"The CIA were the people who trained me" she said, impassively, "Turned me into their own personal weapon, at the cost of all of my relationships"

The mere thought of those years, of the pain she had inflicted on those who had wanted nothing but to help. Of all the things she'd done, doing others dirty work, hiding in the shadows. At first she thought that she could keep things separate, keep up the facade. There was a certain freedom in realization, that she couldn't continue being two different people. But there was also a burden to it. Shackling herself to one persona. And which one? Her old identity, the person she used to be. No, even then, she'd shed that person, that innocence was lost. So she chose the other persona. The identity not yet crafted, still mysterious to her, unknown.

And no matter how she tried, she found herself unable to forget the lessons she'd been taught. Teachings on manipulation, on how to bend others to you will; teachings to always make the kill as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Her lessons were of second nature to her now, a second skin she couldn't shed.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that" he said

"Guess both my sons just want to do their civic duty, albeit in different ways" she said, "I suppose heroism runs in their blood, their dad was always fond of being the hero, no matter the cost"

"And after all those years, thinking he'd pay a soldier's debt, just for him to have a heart attack" she said, her voice breaking ever so slightly, "He was home alone when it happened too, the _postman_ found him. They got him to the hospital, but it...was too late. He was gone"

"It wasn't your fault" he told her, turning his face to look at her

"I know that" she sniffed, "For years, I blamed myself. Kept asking myself, what if. But I know that staying in the past won't change what happened. Everyone needs to move on sometime"

"Moving on's not always easy" said Steve, turning away, gripping his hands together

"No, it's not. But it's neccesary" she said gently, moving her hand over his, "We choose how long it takes. But closure is needed if we want to heal"

Even though she spoke encouraging words to him, they were filled with hypocrisy. What did she know of closure? It was true, making peace with the past was a difficult feat, one she had struggled with. She knew nothing of peace.

But she did know that not letting of the past turned people bitter and cold. And she couldn't let Steve become like that. Steve was far too good a person to be poisoned by the past.

"I have to go and see Clint" she announced, standing up, turning head back to him, "You should go speak to Tony" she suggested, causing Steve to raise his eyebrows, "He could use someone to talk to right now"

Clara gave Steve one last encouraging look, before exiting the room. The purpose back in her stride, flicking her hair over her shoulder, holding her head up. She was okay. She would be okay.

She opened the door, stepping inside the room. Natasha and Clint were sitting on the bed, somber expressions on their faces. Not that Clara expected any less, given what both of them had gone through in the past few days.

"How do you feel?" Clara asked Clint

"Like I had somebody in my mind" Clint muttered, "And was then hit really hard in the head"

"So, just peachy" she joked, causing Clint to let out a chuckle,

"Always trying to lighten the mood" he said, shaking his head as he sat down on the bed, "Are you okay?" He asked, looking up at her

"Just a few bruises" she answered, sitting down next to him, "Nothing too bad, I'll be all healed soon enough"

"How are things with Steve?" Asked Clint, causing Clara to raise her eyebrow, looking over at Natasha who just shrugged

"We're talking, getting there" she said, "Not sure where there is, but it's better than nothing. So, what's our plan?"

"Do whatever it takes to bring Loki down" said Natasha, "With whoever's left"

"Sounds like a great plan"

"I'm going to wash up" said Clint, getting up from the bed,

"You need it" teased Clara, Clint grinning at her as he walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, leaving Clara and Natasha alone.

"How are you doing?" Clara asked her

"Better" Natasha replied, pushing herself up off the bed, "Thank you, for what you did"

"Well, what are friends for if not to save us from giant green rage monsters" said Clara, causing both of them to grin, "But seriously, you okay with all of this? I mean, this isn't exactly standard spy stuff"

"I'm okay"

They both turned their heads towards the door at the sound of it opening, Steve stepping inside, in full costume once more.

"Time to go" he announced

"Go where?" Asked Natasha

"I'll tell you on the way" he replied, "Can either of you fly one of those jets?"

"I can" said Clint, walking out of the bathroom

Unsure, Steve looked to Natasha and Clara for confirmation, waiting for them to nod before continuing, "You got a suit?" He asked, and Clint nodded, "Then suit up"

* * *

 **Definitely an intense chapter. Please tell me your thoughts, a lot's happened, and a lot's been revealed.**

 **Also, I wonder if anyone can find the Shakespeare quote in this chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners**

* * *

 _"Great results, can be achieved by small forces"_

 _Sun Tzu_

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

They had just made it to New York in the Quinjet, Loki was at Stark Tower, just as Tony had predicted. Though, their efforts to stop him were futile, as he simply shot at them with his sceptre. The shot hit their wing, and a fire erupted, causing the Quinjet to begin to fall from the air.

Steve used his free hand to grab Clara around the waist, his other hand holding onto the roof. Her legs swung, as they were lifted into the air. She grabbed onto Steve's shoulders to stable herself, her legs wrapping around one of his. The position was awkward, and had the jet not been crashing, Clara was sure Steve would be blushing.

The jet hit the ground, and Clara unwrapped her legs, letting go of Steve to fall to the ground.

"Thanks" she said

"No problem" he replied

Clara followed Steve out of the jet, looking around at the chaos surrounding them. And she had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

"We gotta get back up there" said Steve

"And how are we gonna do that?" She asked him

Steve didn't answer her, he was too distracted by what looked to be a hole in the sky, and more importantly, what was coming out of it. What Clara assumed were the Chitauri, poured out of the portal, each on their own form of flying bike. They were followed by what a metal machine that somewhat resembled a fish, fins and all.

The metal machine flew straight past them, as more Chitauri jumped from it and onto the buildings.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked

"Seeing" Tony confirmed, "Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Asked Steve, confused as to why the scientist would be making an appearance

"Just keep me posted" said Tony

* * *

Clara was crouching down behind a taxi with Clint and Natasha, as Steve joined them.

"We've got civilians trapped in the" started Clint, but he stopped at the sound of Chitauri flying over, "Loki"

"They're fish in a barrel down there" said Steve, before ducking back behind the taxi as the Chitauri began to fire at them

"We got this" Natasha said to Steve, "It's good, go"

"You think you can hold them off?" Asked Steve

"Captain" said Clint, as he readied his bow, "It would be my genuine pleasure"

Clint then quickly loaded his bow, and fired an arrow into the head of a Chitauri. Clara turned her head back to look at Steve, knowing that his look of concern was over her.

"Go" she urged him, "And try not to die, can't lose you now I've just got you back"

"I'll try" he said, nodding at her

Clara watched as he jumped off of the bridge, before turning back to Natasha, who had her eyebrows raised.

"Don't" Clara warned her

* * *

Natasha, Clint, and Clara had continued to fight the Chitauri; Steve soon rejoined them, knocking away the Chitauri soldiers with his shield. Clara took a step forward, her daggers ready in her hands. But before she could attack, a bolt of lightning hit them, killing them instantly. She took a step back, as Thor landed on the ground next to the dead Chitauri.

"What's the story upstairs?" Asked Steve

"The power surrounding the cube is inpenetrable" said Thor

"Thor's right" said Tony, "We gotta deal with these guys"

"How do we do this?" Asked Natasha

"As a team" answered Steve

"I have unfinished business with Loki" said Thor

"Yeah" said Clint, fixing his arrows, "Well, get in line"

"Save it" said Steve, walking towards Clint and Natasha, "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild"

"We got Stark up top, and he's gonna need us to" Steve continued, but stopped at the sound of a rumbling motorbike

Clara peered past Steve, and spotted Banner approaching them on a bike.

"So" said Banner, getting off the bike and walking up to them, "This all seems...horrible"

"I've seen worse" said Natasha, clearly referring to the Hulk incident onboard the helicarrier

"Sorry" muttered Bruce, guiltily

"No, we could...use a little worse" said Natasha

"We could use a lot worse actually" muttered Clara, causing Clint to chuckle

"Stark, we got him" said Steve

"Banner?" Asked Tony

"Just like you said" replied Steve

"Then tell him to suit up" said Tony, "I'm bringing the party to you"

Tony flew around the corner, closely followed by one of the Chitauri's large metal machines. Coming straight towards them.

"I...I don't see how that's a party" said Natasha

Bruce looked at them, before turning and walking in the very direction of the oncoming danger.

"Doctor Banner" said Steve, "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry"

"That's my secret, Cap" said Bruce, continuing to walk towards the machine, "I'm always angry"

And with that little nugget of information, Banner did one of his more graceful transformations into the Hulk. Punching straight into the Chitauri monster.

Clara stumbled back, as the Chitauri began to curl over itself, the metal armour coming off as it began its descent.

"Hold on" said Stark, before shooting into the monster

Clint grabbed onto Clara's arm, pulling her behind a car for shelter, as the Chitauri exploded as it fell to the ground. Clint moved to cover her, protecting her from the falling debris. Only after the creature was lying dead on the ground, did Clint move off of her.

"Thanks" she said, as he pulled her up

"No problem" he muttered, nodding to her

The pair of them walked around the car, moving back to the others. The Chitauri had obviously seen them take down the creature, as they all began, what could only be described, as a battle cry of sorts.

"I think we pissed them off" she muttered, as more Chitauri began to pour from the portal, "Yep, they're definetly pissed"

"Call it, Captain" said Tony

"Alright, until we can close that portal, our priority is containment" said Steve, "Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything, call out pattern and strays. Stark, you've got the perimeter, anything gets more then three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash"

"Can you give me a lift?" Clint asked Stark

"Right" said Stark, moving over to Clint, "Better clench up, Legolas"

Cling quickly clenched his body, before Tony took a hold of him, and shot up into the sky.

"Thor, you've got to try and bottleneck that portal, slow 'em down. If you've got the lightning, light the bastards up" said Steve, Thor began to spin his hammer, before flying off into the sky

"Natasha, Clara, us three will stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here" said Steve, before turning to the Hulk, "And Hulk. Smash"

Hulk gave them a menacing grin, before jumping up onto the building, quite literally following Steve's orders, as he began to smash various Chitauri.

* * *

"Steve, lift" she called out, as she ran up to him

Steve crouched down, lowering his shield. Clara launched herself upwards, her feet connecting with the shield, Steve pushed upwards in coordination with her jump, causing her to flip backwards. As she flew through the air, she dug her dagger into the head of the Chitauri, bringing it to the ground with her. Whilst bringing herself back to a standing position, she kicked the legs out from underneath the other soldier, stabbing it as it fell. She spun around, letting go of the dagger so that it embedded itself in another soldier's head, stretching out her fingers to push it through the air, taking out more soldiers as it went.

"Thanks for the lift" she said, as she closed her fingers, pulling the dagger back towards her

"Anytime" Steve replied

The Chitauri soldiers kept coming, and it seemed just as she disposed of one two more took it's place.

Clara shoved her dagger into the Chitauri's neck, kicking it's body to the ground. She turned her head, just in time to see a Chitauri's shot at her. She spread apart her hands to block it, but the impact sent her flying backwards, colliding with the roof of a car. She let out a groan, rolling onto her side, sure that bruises were probably already beginning to form on her back.

"You alright?" Steve asked her, helping to guide her back to the ground, his arm around her to hold her up

"You know Captain" said Natasha, "None of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal"

"Our biggest guns could touch it" pointed out Steve

"Maybe it's not about guns" suggested Natasha

"If you wanna get up there you're gonna need a ride" said Steve

"I got ride" said Natasha, throwing the Chitauri weapon to the ground, looking up into the sky at the flying aircrafts, "I could use a boost though"

"This is a terrible idea" muttered Clara

"You sure about this?" Asked Steve, letting go of Clara to move around the car, readying his shield

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun" said Natasha, with absolutely no certainty in her voice

"Oh God" whispered Clara

Natasha run up, jumping from the hood of the car, onto Steve's shield, Steve pushing upwards to propel her into the sky. Clara let out the breath she was holding, when she saw Natasha grab onto one of the aircrafts. The relief was short lived, as more Chitauri advanced on them.

"Clara" called out Steve, throwing his shield to her

She plucked the shield from the air, spinning around, holding the shield in front of her as she crouched down. The blasts reflected back to the Chitauri, Steve jumped onto the roof of the car behind her, and she tossed the shield back up to him.

"Captain, a bank on 42nd past Madison" said Clint, "They corned a lot of civilians in there"

"I'm on it" said Steve, "You can handle this?"

"Piece've cake"

The Chitauri began shooting their guns at her, she reach out her hands, spreading them apart, to create a force that deflected the rays straight back at them. The Chitauri flew backwards, off the bridge.

Clara took the few moments of relief to survey the scene. The damage was immense. Wreckage covered the streets, debris scattered over the roads. It ached to see the city she had called home for so many collective years, destroyed. Though it had been about two years since she'd spent a lengthy period of time in the city, her apartment rarely used, she still felt intrinsically connected to the city.

The bridge was now empty, but Clara could see a hoard of oncoming Chitauri on the street below, Thor already in mid fight against them. The drop from the bridge to the ground was sure to cause her no injury, but the height did nothing to ease her. She picked up the Chitauri weapon Natasha had discarded, gripping it tightly in her hand.

"I hate heights" she muttered, before running across the pavement, stepping onto the ledge, before jumping down.

She safely landed on the roof of a car, jumping down onto the hood, and then stepping off onto the ground. Her path towards her fellow Avenger was clear, and she lifted up the weapon, aiming at the Chitauri currently advancing on Thor, firing a blast straight into it.

Two Chitauri soldiers came towards her, she swung the weapon at the head of the first one, knocking him to the ground, swinging it back to hit the second one. She moved her right hand away, flicking her wrist, sending a car flying on top of the oncoming Chitauri.

"How's it looking down here?" Clara asked Thor

"They keep coming" he said, "We need to shut the portal down"

"Natasha's on that" she told him, "We'll just have to stall until she works it out"

"Steve, where are you?" She said into the coms

"Right behind you" he said, throwing his shield into one of the Chitauri

The three of them each moved away, each taking on the Chitauri. Steve swatted away one of them with his shield, but in doing so, left himself open. The Chitauri took advantage of it, shooting him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. Thor used his hammer to flip a car into the soldiers, before offering his hand to pull Steve up.

"Ready for another bout?" Thor asked him

"What, you getting sleepy?" Steve replied

"I can close it" she heard Natasha say, just as she reached Steve and Thor, "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down"

"Do it" said Steve

"No, wait" said Tony

"Stark, these things are still coming" said Steve

"And they're not gonna stop anytime soon" said Clara

"I've got a nuke coming in" said Tony, "It's gonna blow in less then a minute. And I know just where to put it"

"Stark" said Steve, "You know that's a one way trip"

"What. Tony, no" said Clara, rushing forward, but Steve wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back, "No, please, no"

"Clara" said Steve, in an attempt to calm her down

"Tony!" She screamed, as he flew up into the wormhole, and didn't come back down, "No, no, no"

She kept repeating the word, moments passing, and Tony did not come out of the wormhole.

"Close it" ordered Steve

"No" she shrieked, beginning to thrash about in Steve's arms, "Please, you can't" she begged, "You can't. Please, no, no"

Steve locked his arms around her, holding her in place, as she continued her inaudible screams. He was gone. And she'd just watched him sacrifice himself. She had failed him.

"Clara" said Steve, but she couldn't hear over the noise she was making, "Clara, look"

Clara stopped in her struggle, looking up at the sky, to see Tony plummeting back towards them.

"Son of a gun" muttered Steve, loosening his grip on her

Clara didn't move from Steve's arms, she just watched as Tony fell faster and faster.

"He's not slowing down" pointed out Thor, as he began to spin his hammer

Clara grabbed on to Steve's arm in a panic, her eyes wide. Her panic subsided as the Hulk burst through the air, grabbing on to Tony.

The three of them rushed over to where the Hulk was standing next to an unconscious Tony. Thor pushed Tony over, ripping off his helmet. Steve leaned down, to listen for the sound of his breathing. Clara fell onto her knees, moving her hands to Tony's chest, her first thought being CPR, even though the suit prevented it.

"Tony" she called out frantically

Just as all seemed lost, the Hulk let out a ear splitting roar. That was so loud, it drew Tony back to consciousness.

"Oh, what the hell" said Tony, looking around at them, "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me"

"We won" said Steve

"Alright hey, good job guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow, let's just take a day" said a Tony, "Have you ever tried Shawarma?" Asked Tony, causing Clara to let out a chuckle as she shook her head, "There's a Shawarma joint about two blocks from here, I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it"

"We're not finished yet" said Thor

"And then, Shawarma after"

* * *

It had been a few days since the battle, the cuts and bruises were still there, but she was slowly healing. And now, it was finished. Both Loki and the Tesseract were leaving earth, hopefully for good.

They had all met up in Central Park, to watch Thor leave for Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract. Clara stood next to Steve, watching as Erik Selvig put the Tesseract into a capsule. Thor held out the capsule to the restrained Loki, nodding to everyone, before twisting the handle. A beam of light shot up into the sky, causing everyone to take a step backwards, as Thor and Loki disappeared.

Everyone said their goodbyes, as they all prepared to go their separate ways.

"Going back to SHIELD?" Asked Tony, as she approached him

"I've got a job to do" she said, "Look, I know that we've, had our issues, but I really hope we can put it behind us"

"Already there" he assured her, "I guess I'll be seeing you"

"Definitely" she promised him, "You know, I could plus one you to my grandson's birthday. If you want. I'm sure my daughter won't mind. And it'll make me the coolest grandmother ever"

"I'll see how I go" he said, and she was satisfied enough by his answer

She turned on her heel, walking over to where Steve stood next to his motorcycle, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"You know, I hate the fact that you don't wear a helmet" she said, "I mean, I know you're a super soldier and all, but I'm sure your skull can still be crushed"

"If it bothers you that much, I'll buy one" he said, taking his place on the bike, grinning up at her

"No you won't" she scoffed, "I'll see you around, right?"

They both knew what she meant. Both understanding the double meaning to her words. She was asking if they would return to avoiding each other once more. If the awkwardness would fall between them again. The friendship was tentative, and it would be a slow road. But they could regain some semblance of normality in their relationship.

"Right"

Clara nodded to him, as he started up the engine. She watched him ride away, and she knew that he was going to be okay. They all would.

"Ready to go?" Natasha asked her

"Let's go to work"

* * *

"You wanted to speak to me" said Clara, as she walked into the room, folding her arms over her chest,

"I took your previous comments into consideration" said Fury, "And have decided that it's best if I let you in on a few things. From now on, I'm raising your clearance level to level nine"

"Much appreciated" she said, "Did you call me here to share? Or just prepare me for future sharing?"

"I'm going to use Project T.A.H.I.T.I on Coulson"

"What?" She asked, dropping her arms to her side, "That project was a failure, you and I both know what happened to it's patients. Do you really want to subject Phil to that?"

"I have to try" said Fury, "He's vital to SHIELD, we can't afford to lose him"

"I know that he's like family to you, and I understand that you don't want to lose him" she said gently, taking a step towards him, "But death's not something you should meddle with. People aren't meant to come back. And how do you even know this'll work?"

"It'll work" he assured her, "I'll make sure it does"

"And what if, what happens to the others, happens to him?" She asked

"There will be certain precautions taken" he said, "Insurances"

"Insurances?"

"Agent May will head a team, whose members will haver certain roles if the situation arises"

"The situation of Phil going crazy and needing to be taken down" she scoffed, "And isn't Agent May on a desk job"

"She won't be in an active role"

"Yeah right" she said, "You're trying to get her out in the field by putting her in a situation that will require it. You know, Fury, you're one hellova sneaky bastard"

"I'm going to take that as a compliment" he said, and she snorted, it most definitely was nothing of the sort, "You may not like my methods, but this is for the best"

"I'll take your word for it"

* * *

 **Okay, so this is the last official chapter, but there will be a bonus one. Hope you all enjoyed the story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners**

* * *

 _"When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family." Jim Butcher_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

The party was a small affair, just family and close friends, gathered at Tessa's house. They would have a larger one next week, of which, Clara would not be in attendance. It was too difficult to explain why she was called 'nanna' by the children, and yet looked the same age as their mother.

Tessa and Clara did look practically like sisters, Tessa having inherited her mother's strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Thomas on the other hand, looked ever his father's son. What, with his dark hair and eyes, and the wide smile constantly spreading across his face.

Clara was disappointed to say that none of her grandchildren had inherited her hair, but rather took after their father, all brown hair and eyes. They, however, did not inherit Pyotr's stoic expression, though Clara could sometimes see his serious nature in Noah.

She was standing in the kitchen, cutting up a fruit platter, when her granddaughter came bursting through the door towards her.

"Ma Biche" ( _My doe_ ) she said to Piper, lifting her up into her arms, "You've gotten so big, what are you, ten?"

"No Nanna, I'm five" Piper told her

"You're practically a teenager" she said, putting her back on the ground

"God help us when that day comes" said Tessa, "Why don't you go help daddy with the balloons?"

"Okay momma" said Piper cheerily, running off to her father

"Hey, you're okay with me inviting Tony, right" Clara asked her daughter

"Yeah, course" said Tessa, "The more merrier. He's kinda family, like a pseudo step brother of sorts"

"I guess" chuckled Clara

"So, are you going to give me the rundown of what happened in New York?" Tessa asked, "Finally get to see just how much of badass my mother is"

"I think the news pretty much covered everything" shrugged Clara

"Oh, come on" egged Tessa, "You were fighting an alien invasion, you have nothing to say about it"

"There isn't much to say" she said, "Just another normal day on the job"

"Haha" mocked Tessa, "Is Natasha coming? And Clint and the kids?"

"No, they're having some downtime" she said, "Clint's gonna need some recovery time. Having a God mess with your head's gotta take its toll"

"Wait, what?" Asked Tessa

"Oh, are, yeah, Loki had Clint under some sort of mind control" Clara explained, "Forgot you're not always privy to everything"

"See, that's something I wanted to be told" said Tessa, "Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of right now" said Clara, "But if something comes to me, I'll tell you"

"Hey mom" called out Thomas, pulling Clara into a hug, and she winced, "Oh sorry, guess those aliens really did a number on you"

"Just some bruises, I'll be fine" she assured him, "How long are you staying?"

"For good"

"Really?" She asked, "What happened to traveling the world with Laura, or was it Lisa"

"I thought it was Monica" said Tessa

"Her name was Lily, and she's old news" he said, "No, I think it's time I came home. You're both always saying that I should settle down"

"Like you ever listen to us" scoffed Tessa, "But if you really are serious about settling down, I could give Jane a call"

"Please tell me that our cousin did not bring Crazy Jane here with her" he pleaded, "Allie knows how obsessed her best friend is with me"

"Don't flatter yourself" said Clara, "Jane just got married"

"Oh thank god" Thomas muttered, "You know I still have the scar on my forehead from when she threw her hairbrush at me"

"Okay, yeah, her reaction to your break up was a little over the top"

"Little?"

"But she's mellowed out over the years" Clara continued,

"Anyway, she's not coming. She's on her honeymoon in the Bahamas" said Tessa, "Now, Thomas. You can go help Pyotr put up the banner"

"You really do have that teach voice down pact" said Thomas, stealing a piece of fruit from the platter

"No manners that child" joked Clara, "So, how is everyone?"

"We're all good" Tessa replied, "Piper can't wait to start school in the fall, Pyotr was offered a promotion at the fire department"

"How is Pyotr?"

"Do you mean does he still sleep with a knife under his pillow" deadpanned Tessa, "No. I managed to convince him to move it to the drawer"

"Hey, what did you expect when you married an ex-KGB agent turned mercenary"

"That's a good point"

* * *

"Will's here" said Tessa, bursting into the kitchen

"Will's here"

"With a girl"

"Will's here" Clara repeated, "And he has a girl"

"Will has a girlfriend" said Thomas, joining them

"Will has a girlfriend" she affirmed

Clara poked her head out of the kitchen to see her eldest son, joined by her two younger children. Will was tall and lean like his brother, sharing their fathers dark hair, but had inherited Clara's blue eyes. His expression was stoic, as per usual, by his gaze softened as he looked down at the woman beside him.

"She looks just like you" Tessa told her, "Wow, talk about mommy issues"

Both Clara and Thomas raised their eyebrows, as they turned to look at her.

"What?" She asked, "Okay, I know Pyotr kinda looks like dad, but their personalities are totally different"

"No, he acts just like Will" scoffed Clara, "C'mon, let's go say hello, and try not to scare the girl away"

"We'll be perfectly lovely to her" Thomas promised her, and she just grinned as she shook her head at them

"Hey big bro" said Thomas, opening his arms to hug Will, "Long time no see"

"I thought you were in London" said Will, "With Lila"

"Her name was Lily, and we're done" Thomas replied, "I'm thinking of staying here, settling down, you know, accepting responsibilities and becoming a bore like you"

"Haha, very funny" said Will, turning to hug Tessa,

"It's good to see you big brother" said Tessa, "And you've brought company"

"Yeah, uh, guys, this is Evie" he said, the women stepping forward from his side, "Evie, this is -"

"Tessa and Thomas" she finished, "Will's told me so much about you"

"Did he tell you about the time his car broke down when he was taking his high school girlfriend to prom, and I had to come and pick them up?" Clara asked her, "He was so embarrassed"

"No, he'll have to tell me that story" said Evie, "I guess you're his mom"

"I guess I am" she said, "It's lovely to meet you"

"Mom" said Will, nodding to her, "It's good to see you"

"You too" she replied, an awkward silence falling between them

"Where's Leo?" Asked Will

"Right here" said Pyotr, walking up to the group, his son in his arms, "He was helping me and Piper to blow up balloons"

"I'm sure they were very helpful" said Tessa

They were interrupted by the sound of another person stepping through the door. A person who knew how to make an entrance.

"Alright people, the party is here" Tony announced

"Tony, I'm glad you could make it" said Clara, "This, is my family, there's a lot of them, so introductions could take awhile"

"That's Iron Man" a gobsmacked Evie said to Will

"Yeah, I know" he grimaced, scowling over at Tony

"You could here just in time for the cake" said Tessa, in a blatant effort to diffuse the situation

But even as they sang happy birthday, Tessa, Pyotr, and the kids blowing out the candles together for Leo, Will's mood remained sour. As usual, nothing could drag Will from his internalized anguish, not even his girlfriend.

Clara had retreated to the kitchen, with the excuse of cutting up the cake, but actually just wanting to escape the tension.

"What's the deal with boy wonder?" Tony asked, "I don't remember doing anything to him"

"You slept with his ex-wife"

"Seriously" said Tony, his eyes widening

"No, he's never been married" she said, "I just enjoy messing with you"

"Not funny" he said, "I don't even know if you're joking or not. Your face was completely serious. Excellent control of your emotions, was that a part of spy training?"

"Yes" she stated, "But, Will is the type of person who genuinely enjoys responsibility, and dislikes those who shun it"

"Are you calling me irresponsible?"

"I used to think you weren't responsible enough to take care of a goldfish" she deadpanned, before her voice softened, the corner of her mouth pulling up into a smile, "But I'm glad to say you proved me wrong"

"Well, exceeding expectations is my specialty" said Tony, pausing, thinking over his next question, "Why did you and my dad divorce? What was it, an amicable agreement?"

"Uh, no. It was my decision" she said, "Howard wanted to work things out, but, I, I didn't think that was possible"

"Was it?"

"Probably" she sighed, "Maybe, I don't know"

"So, when are you and Steve going to get together?" He asked

"What are you, a matchmaker now?" She asked him, crossing her arms, "Stark Industries branching out?"

"Depends, do you think that'll be profitable?" He asked, causing her to grin,

"Me and Steve, we're not, there's nothing" she tried to say, but found she couldn't lie, things were different between her and Steve, and maybe, there was a possibility, however slim, "I don't know what we are, or what we could be"

"Well, if you need to, any of my resources are at your disposal" Tony told her, "Including my expertise in relationships"

"Pepper is literally the only long term relationship you've ever had" she pointed out, "What possible advice could you give me?"

"Good point" he said, "Maybe you could give me a few pointers?"

"Okay, don't be a dick" she said, "She already puts up with you, so she must be special"

"She is, you'd like her" he said proudly, "If you ever find yourself in LA, maybe you can come and meet her"

"I'd like that" Clara muttered, "Hey, Tony, you had a near death experience, and right now, you're in euphoria" she said, picking up the tray filled with slices of cake, "But when it wears off, and it will, if you need someone to talk to. I'm here"

"Thanks for the offer"

* * *

After they had each had their pieces of cake, Noah ending up with the icing covering his fingers, which he then preceded to wipe all over his sister's dress, resulting in each of them needing to be cleaned up. Will had escaped out onto the porch to brood in peace.

"What's up, sourpuss?" She asked, stepping out onto the porch, but he only glowered at her in response, so she decided on another approach, "So, how did you and Evie get together?" She asked

"Bonded over missing parents" deadpanned Will

"Really?"

"No" he said, "Her parents are happily married dentists living in Virginia"

"Well, that's, lovely" she said, folding her arms over her chest, "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

"You're the shrink" he said, "Figure it out"

Clara raised her eyebrow, waiting to see if he would continue, or if he genuinely wanted her to tell him what was wrong. After a few moments of silence, she decided it was the latter.

"You don't like Tony because he threatens your father's memory. Or, more accurately, Tony's father threatens it" she explained, and when Will tensed his arms, folding them in a similar manner to her, she knew she had hit the nail on the head,

"Who said this was about dad?" He huffed

"Will, I know you, I know how losing your dad impacted you" she said, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm, "And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that you had to grow up so young. But you don't always have to be this family's protector. And even so. Tony's not a threat. He's family"

"Sure" he scoffed, pulling away, to turn his back on her, "Whatever you say"

"William James, you better stop this tough guy act right now" she ordered, in only the way a mother could, "I now, that you want to emulate your father. But I can assure you, Charlie had no ill will towards Howard, or by extension Tony, and nor should you. I know, that you really are just as accepting as him. Just allow yourself to be"

Will just stood there, staring back at his mother, before collapsing down into the chair, moving his face into his hands.

"I know, I miss him too" she said, taking the spot next to him, moving her hand to rub his back, just as she had down when he was a child, "And he would be proud of you, no matter what. You don't have to try so hard. And I am proud of you, and I love you"

"Even with my profession?" He asked, looking up at her

"Yes, regardless of anything, I am your mother, and I will always love you, and be there for you" she promised, "And you can stop worrying about me, and your brother and sister, because we're all gonna be just fine. Now you've gotta focus on you, settle down like you've always wanted to"

"What do you think of Evie?"

"She seems, lovely" she replied

"She's a nurse, you know, and she's smart, and kind" he boasted, "She's amazing"

"Just promise me something" she told him, "Don't make the same mistake you did with the last girl. Don't put your job before love, because it's not worth it"

"Sounds like you're talking from experience?"

"Yeah, I am" she admitted, "Don't make the same mistakes I have", and Will nodded, an understanding passing over them

"Now" she said, getting up, "Let's go rejoin the party, if you're ready to put a smile on that face"

"Anything for my nephew" he said, putting his arm around her as they walked back inside

"That's the spirit"

* * *

 **Okay, bit of foreshadowing in her conversation with Will, all will be revealed, in future stories.**

 **IMPORTANT : After this, I'll have a one-shot, set during Season One of Agent's of SHIELD, called SHIELD's Top Agent. And then, a story set during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, called Dulce Et Decorum. Both of these can be found on my profile.**

 **I hope you have all enjoyed this story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT**

I have posted the first two chapters of the sequel, titled Dulce Et Decorum, which is set during Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I hope you can all check it out, because if you like this story, trust me, it only gets better.

You can find the sequel on my profile.


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